Dialog 3 issue

[JunkerJorge]

I have a Dialog 3 that is my favorite pen by far to write with...for about 15 minutes. I don't know what is going on with it. It just stops. I don't know what is going on. Am I missing something? I don't think it's drying out. We are not talking about sitting on a shelf for a few days. It's really frustrating me. Any tips or advice?

[Paul-in-SF]

Any chance there is dried ink in the feed channel, or has it been in continuous use? Maybe a good soak and cleaning would be salutary (sorry to start with the obvious). 

 

When I had a pen that did that, I got basically two pieces of advice. One was to replace the plastic feed with an ebonite feed (probably not an option for your pen), and the other was to use a wetter ink. I frankly didn't think the ink was the problem, but I was able to get an ebonite feed and that helped a lot.

 

SBRE Brown has one of his disassembly videos on this pen (here:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lj0bkK2oRSw ). You can take the pen apart as far as removing the nib (but not the feed, he feels it is too delicate) to make sure it is as clean as possible. 

 

[JunkerJorge]

1 minute ago, Paul-in-SF said:

Any chance there is dried ink in the feed channel, or has it been in continuous use? Maybe a good soak and cleaning would be salutary (sorry to start with the obvious). 

 

When I had a pen that did that, I got basically two pieces of advice. One was to replace the plastic feed with an ebonite feed (probably not an option for your pen), and the other was to use a wetter ink. I frankly didn't think the ink was the problem, but I was able to get an ebonite feed and that helped a lot.

 

SBRE Brown has one of his disassembly videos on this pen (here:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lj0bkK2oRSw ). You can take the pen apart as far as removing the nib (but not the feed, he feels it is too delicate) to make sure it is as clean as possible. 

 

Thanks. I just did a clean out before I loaded it. I had it inked with Iroshizuku Kon Peki I think so nothing too dry. I'm not an expert by any means but I'm just sort of perplexed by this one.

[clear1]

Are you using a converter? It seems like the ink in the converter is not flowing to the nib.

 

If you have a cartridge, try one. Maybe it will solve the problem.

 

Or, if you don't check the converter if the ink is down to the feed when it happens.  If the ink is stuck upside, turn the know and send the ink down. I hope it helps.

[JunkerJorge]

7 hours ago, clear1 said:

Are you using a converter? It seems like the ink in the converter is not flowing to the nib.

 

If you have a cartridge, try one. Maybe it will solve the problem.

 

Or, if you don't check the converter if the ink is down to the feed when it happens.  If the ink is stuck upside, turn the know and send the ink down. I hope it helps.

I am using a converter. Thanks I will try this. 

[JunkerJorge]

So I do have a cartridge but before I cleaned it out to load with cartridge I just pushed a little ink through with the converter piston. It wrote beautifully for about half an hour. Now I have it "capped" and will see how it fares in a little bit. 

[TheDutchGuy]

My Dialog3 requires frequent use and wet inks to keep it performing well, especially if the pen is positioned upside down (in a shirt pocket or in a pen stand). Flushing every other refill also helps. I use Herbin Bleu des Profondeurs in mine, which is the wettest ink I know.

 

The Dialog3 is a unique pen and requires some more care than usual. All in the game, I’m afraid.

[Ron Z]

Two things - some inks are incompatible with others - a good flush and cleaning when changing inks is a good idea.  You can make your own pen flush with household ammonia diluted in water (a cap full or two in a  juice glass)  and a few drops of Dawn dish detergent to flush, and then rinse and flush well with clear water, and then shake the water out.

 

The early Dialog 3 pens had an issue with a poor seal, causing the pens to dry out.  IIRC they made a change in the design.  I don't know if they repaired or replaced the pens under warranty or not.  It's worth asking Lamy.   As suggested  in the post above, a good cleaning is not a bad idea.

[JunkerJorge]

7 hours ago, Ron Z said:

Two things - some inks are incompatible with others - a good flush and cleaning when changing inks is a good idea.  You can make your own pen flush with household ammonia diluted in water (a cap full or two in a  juice glass)  and a few drops of Dawn dish detergent to flush, and then rinse and flush well with clear water, and then shake the water out.

 

The early Dialog 3 pens had an issue with a poor seal, causing the pens to dry out.  IIRC they made a change in the design.  I don't know if they repaired or replaced the pens under warranty or not.  It's worth asking Lamy.   As suggested  in the post above, a good cleaning is not a bad idea.

Thanks. I didn't mix any inks. I had just cleaned and filled the pen (it was actually ku jaku and not kon pedi) but it went dry after very short use. I pushed some ink through the feed with the converter and it worked a bit better after. I have the second version I believe but it still doesn't really write out of the gate regardless of what I do. Once it gets flowing its a great writer though.  

[JunkerJorge]

8 hours ago, TheDutchGuy said:

My Dialog3 requires frequent use and wet inks to keep it performing well, especially if the pen is positioned upside down (in a shirt pocket or in a pen stand). Flushing every other refill also helps. I use Herbin Bleu des Profondeurs in mine, which is the wettest ink I know.

 

The Dialog3 is a unique pen and requires some more care than usual. All in the game, I’m afraid.

Thanks for your experience. I do typically keep it in a pen box at an incline. I have been using Iroshizuku inks which I think of as fairly wet. But I don't use it every day. Even if I do use it everyday I find I need to do a few loops to get it started. Is this your experience? 

 

When I posted it was going bone dry after I wrote the ink out of the feed I think.

 

[TheDutchGuy]

7 hours ago, JunkerJorge said:

Even if I do use it everyday I find I need to do a few loops to get it started. Is this your experience? 

 

No, but I store the pen horizontally and use a very wet ink. Two or three days of non-use are OK. Longer, and the pen dries out.

[A Smug Dill]

46 minutes ago, TheDutchGuy said:

Two or three days of non-use are OK. Longer, and the pen dries out.

 

Yikes! That would make the pen a write-off for me, and so I'm glad I never bought one even when the price on offer was oh-so-attractive. Thank you very much for settling my mind!

[TheDutchGuy]

You’re welcome!

 

The D3... there’s nothing quite like it. It’s not perfect, yet I won’t part with mine. 

[JunkerJorge]

4 hours ago, TheDutchGuy said:

You’re welcome!

 

The D3... there’s nothing quite like it. It’s not perfect, yet I won’t part with mine. 

It's certainly very cool. I've had a hard time getting along with it though. This is helpful, thanks!

[Diethylether]

If you find that the ink in the converter isn't flowing well, you can try putting a tiny steel ball inside which can be found in some cartridges. I tried it with my lamy safari and it helps. Hope this can help a bit.

[Diethylether]

On 1/10/2021 at 6:03 PM, A Smug Dill said:

 

Yikes! That would make the pen a write-off for me, and so I'm glad I never bought one even when the price on offer was oh-so-attractive. Thank you very much for settling my mind!

However most capless FPs are like this. They dry out much faster than most conventional FPs, so I tend to write my decimo everyday to keep the ink flowing.